Safety attachment for street-car fare-boxes.



J. J. SMITH, JR.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR STREET OAR FARE BOXES.

APPLICATION IILED MAY 4,1911.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANMRAPM 60.. WAQMINOTON. D- c.

entering the receptacle 2.

JOSEPH J. SMITH, JIL,

OF BENTON H ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

Application filed May 4, 1911. Serial No. 625,046.

. To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, J osicru J. Siurrn, Jr., acitizen of the United States, residing at Benton Harbor, in the county ofBerrien and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Attachments for Street-Car Fare- Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in safety attachments for street car fare boxes.

An object of this invention is the provision of an attachment adapted to be secured to one of the guides through which the tickets are deposited in a fare box of the usual construction, for the purpose of preventing any of the tickets placed therein from being removed by the conductor or any other unauthorized person.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device of this character which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and etlicient in use, and readily operated.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of construction, formations, combinations and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fare box having my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the improved plate removed, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the plate.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, the numeral 1 designates generally a fare box, which consists of the usual fare containing receptacle 2, upon which is mounted the usual vertical extension 3, into which the fares are adapted to be deposited by the passengers in entering the car upon which the fare box is used. This extension 3 has located therein oppositely extending beveled plates or guides t, through which the tickets or the like are adapted to pass in V The lower of these plates 4 has formed upon its lower edge a series of barbed prongs 5, which are formed integral with the said plate 4:, as is clearly apparent from the d 'awings.

A series of auxiliary plates ti are pivoted to the lower face of the lower plate at, and are provided with barbed prongs 7 adapted, when the auxiliary plates are swung in either direction, laterally to displace the bars 7 alternately to right and left in the plane of plate '7 slidably upon the lower faces of the stationary barbs The rear extremities of these plates (5 are offset, as at 10, and bent upwardly, as at 11, for engagement with the otfset ends of a U-shaped spring 12, which serves to yieldingly hold the plates in their normal positions with the barbed ends interposed between the barbed extensions of the said plate 4.

An upper plate 13 is pivoted, as at 14, to the upper face of the lower plate 4:, and is adjustable thereon by means of a slot 15 located in the plate .L. This plate 13 may be adjusted with respect to the lower edge of the plate il to any distance which may be desired.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be manifest that if an unauthorized person should attempt to insert a hooked wire into the compartments which contain the tickets, the said wire will be securely interlocked between the barbed prongs and held against removal.

From the foregoing disclosure it will be apparent that a safety attachment for street car fare boxes is provided for which will fulfil all of the necessary requirements of such a device.

Having thus fully described this invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a fare box, having a slot for the introduction of the fare, of an inclined plate disposed at one side of the box, a plurality of barbed teeth formed with the lower edge of the plate, and spaced equally apart, a plurality of separate teeth of like design pivotally attached to the under side of said plate and occupying the inter-spaces between the fixed teeth overlapping, and a plurality of springs attached to the several movable teeth to hold them normally in yieldable alinement with said fixed teeth. I

2'. The combination with a fare box, of an inclined plate disposed at one side of the box, barbed teeth formed with the lower edge thereof, and spaced equally apart, separate teeth pivotally attached to the under side of said plate projecting into the several interspaces between the fixed teeth and provided With barbs normally to overlap the barbs of the fixed teeth, and means for holding the movable teeth yieldably in alinement with the fixed teeth.

3. The combination With a fare box, of an inclined plate, barbed teeth in the loWer edge thereof, similar separate teeth pivotally attached to the under side of said plate, projecting between the first teeth and normally overlapping the same, means for holding the movable teeth yieldably in aline- JOSEPH J. SMITH, J R.

Witnesses:

LoUIs SEEL, FRED R. BELKNAP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

